From College Basketball to Compelling Conversations: Sean Dillon's Podcasting Journey

I'm Danny Brown, and welcome to My Other Podcast Is, the show that brings you podcasters from around the world to talk about their other podcasts, the one that's maybe less known than their main show. Today I'm joined by Sean Dillon from Texas in the US.

Sean is truly a master of all trades, including a podcaster, obviously, director of digital media, a 25 plus year radio veteran, and more. Sean's main podcast is Rockin 25 College Basketball Pro, which we'll talk about shortly. And his other podcast, we'll talk about that shortly too. But first, Sean, welcome to my other podcasters.

What's just, just cool. Was that also, it's not something you work on, but who

And so I would go with her to her speech and hearing classes and, and write an A with your left hand or write an A with your right hand. And so doing all that, I just looked at it as I wanted to have a voice. And my other podcast is because of not allowing myself to to tell their stories. We'll talk about that later.

And we're going to talk to you guys because you guys are from Seattle and Wisconsin, North Carolina and Maine, and we're going to put together the top 25 teams. Now, these were basically people who had no radio experience, had just passion for the game. And so it first started out as a 20 minute segment on a radio show. And then I still thought, you know, maybe I need to put this out. And put it on the website. And so it then became a podcast.

And so, you know, every, every Thursday night at 6 30, I'm recording the show, that 20 minute segment. And then I edit myself out and let the host, the other host of the radio show do the audio live. So while I'm talking to, you know, I might be talking to Eric Haslam and from hasslemetrics. com and having him explain, you know, why Marquette is not to be trusted during the NCAA tournament.

Or I might be having them break, you know, Michael Hunter break down a specific ACC team and why Duke might not be the team that everyone thinks they are right now. And so it became. One of those things where I wanted to not have it where my guys here in Lubbock knew everything. There are a bunch of talented, independent people out here, like the talented, independent podcasters that are all around the world. I wanted to have their voices. And so by having their voices.

Then it looks like we've got experts from Northeast, South and West coming together for one thing. And so because of that, then once we started putting it out, everyone's like, man, this is good content. And I was like.

Well, I guess we're going to put it in an RSS feed and that's, and that's, that was the basis of, you know, you know, starting the rock and 25 and the rock and pregame, you know, putting, putting that on as a podcast, because there are some people that couldn't listen to the show. and wanted to hear it after the show was over or they were at work. They were at lunch, whatever.

The NBA is dunks or three pointers and it's either, you know, go for an easy pass dunk or, you know, a give and go two man game. And that's it. The NBA game like the NBA all star game. 200 points of yawn, but the college game, when it comes down to things like UMBC beating Virginia, a 16 seed, which had never happened before in the history of the NBA, I'm sorry, the NCAA, that passion. A 16 seed beating a one seed. You don't get that in the NBA. You've got the super teams.

You've got the, you know, Lakers, the Knicks, the Celtics, you know, the Bulls, the Mavs Golden State. You've got all these big market teams with exceptional goals. You got these big market teams. And these big attitudes and you really don't have an underdog and what March madness and what the NCAA provides that the NBA totally does not provide is any one can win any game at any time. Anytime. Absolutely. Without a doubt.

I mean, you can, you can have half court shots that, that, you know, I mean, how many times during the NCAA tournament are people thinking that 12 seeds will be the five seed? It happens. So that, that's the thing that it's, I mean, what kind of, are you a, what soccer team are you a, a backer of?

They've always been a blue blood. They've, they've always, you know, final fours and et cetera. They're not that good a team this year. And so the thing is, is the underdogs are what makes college basketball a thousand times better than the NBA. when it's throw it up from, throw it up from half court, throw it up from beyond the three point arc or dunk the ball.

So If they went up against them in the cup and beat them, it'd be massive. It'd be a huge, as you say, an underdog story. And, and what I like about the show as well is I do like the sports format where it's almost like that was, it's a sports format, a basketball show, but college basketball show, but I do like the, the, the sports presentation format

where you've got multiple hosts, they're given lots of stats and why they're picking the teams that they're going with and the picks that they're going with. And it made me realize that I feel how huge, like college basketball must be. In the U S because I'm, I'm guessing when, when putting a show together and you can talk about that. What's the process of getting the stats about these teams? Because I can imagine a UK equivalent with a soccer.

I wouldn't know any stats about maybe a Wrexham or a Cambridge city or someone like that. So how do you put a show together? How do the experts get that information and all the data? And I don't want this to sound rude, and I apologize if it does, but what's essentially college teams versus the pro, you know, the pro leagues, for example.

And so he can tell you that, you know, in his, in his top 25 right now, Houston's the number one team followed by Purdue, UConn, Auburn, and Tennessee. And he can say that, you know, offensively the strongest team is Purdue. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, but defensively, the team that absolutely is incredible is Houston. They, you can get into the tiny nitty gritty. And also when we're recording it, I have a script for them where I'm going to tell them, okay, we're going to talk about this week.

We're going to talk about we're gonna talk about court storming. We're going to talk about the big 12 and, and how any team, you know, can, can win there, what's the strongest conference. You know, will Gonzaga be. You know, make any roads in there. So they have an idea of what I'm going to ask them. And then, then, then what they'll do is they'll say, okay, I'm going to check the stats and I'm going to say, okay, yeah. You know, Tennessee hasn't gotten out of the.

Sweet six gotten past the sweet 16 for this many years so they can find if they know what I'm going to talk about They can find and find the stats that support their discussion.

My grandfather was worked for the army air corps, which was before the air force and my as he was professor of psychology and sociology. And he, he was incredible. And my grandmother taught and was a speech and hearing professor. She had her own practice. And they would tell me such amazing stories, my grandfather from the great depression, my grandmother of the stars and people that she, that she helped with her, with her practice in school.

I never with all the passion that I have for telling stories and hearing stories, I never put a microphone in front of them. And recorded any of them, none of them, not a, not a single one. And so, because of that, with the exception of the stories that I know and I remember, and that I can tell to anyone at any time, those stories are lost.

And so, When Beyond the Mic was started, was started with the concept of my boss was in the office next to me and he had this American idol star and he had this promoter that was saying, Hey, I've got this American idol star. We need you to do some radio, blah, blah, blah. And my boss wasn't buying it. Put the person on mute and he goes, I don't want to do this. And so I come across around the corner and go, I'll do it. And he's looking at me like, you'll do it. I'm like, yeah, I'll do it.

I'll do it. I'm, you know, it's like the old life life cereal commercial, you know, Mikey, I'll eat it. Michael, eat anything. I'll do it. I'll do anything. And so the first episode of Beyond the Mic, the first 92 episodes, you'll never hear. Because the first 92 episodes, I was, I put them out and then I realized they're not what I want them to be. And so the first 92, we're just figuring out what I wanted to do, the format, how I wanted it, who I wanted to talk to, how I wanted to get it done.

And the format and the way I do things changes. If you listen to the first Beyond the Mic, you'll hear it. Episode two, the Beyond the Mic episode that I did, you know, yesterday, it'll be completely different. You'll have make, you'll have three main parts.

You'll have intro and main main three main questions, which allows them to talk about whatever it is that they're there for, whether it be for, A, you know, an actor or an artist, an author, or someone interesting that I feel like you need to know. And they get their ability that four or five minutes to three, four or five minutes to, you know, Hey, this is what I'm doing. I'm doing this story. I'm doing this article. I'm doing this movie. I'm doing this song.

And then we go into the Rockin eight. And the Rockin eight is where Beyond the Mic is completely different than anybody else. I've had guests who will refuse to go on the air because of the Rockin eight. The Rockin eight is eight random questions. It could be anything, but what they don't know is, is that 90 percent of the Rockin eight is based off of them and their history. So, so for example, if I was going to do a Rockin eight on you, I talked about the, the, you know, your love of Arsenal.

So what was the last Arsenal game you went to, you know, what's your, what's your favorite moment as an Arsenal fan? What's, you know, what got you into podcasting? What was the best lesson that a teacher ever gave you? Who's, who's the person who inspired you? There's five questions there. Now, those five questions probably would not have been asked by any other person, whether it be, what do you like in your coffee? Do you put, do you put a flavorings in your, in your water?

By doing that, by breaking down the. From the three initial questions where I get them to give me the same answer, they will give to 99. 999 percent of every other interview that's out there. If you listen to any interview, if you go and search for any TV or radio interview, whether it be an actor or artist, an author, people will ask the same two or three different questions. And they have a pat answer that they give the exact same words.

And so the Rockin' Eight forces them out of that comfort zone, and then we'll separate into part three, which is either the back half, which is the ability for me to have more deep in depth questions that may pertain about whatever they're talking about, may not pertain to, it may pertain to their hobbies, their interests, who they are. I want to go beyond what everyone knows. If I get one person to say, you know, Sean, that's a great question. That's done. No one's ever asked me that.

Perfect. Those are the things Danny I want, because if you're learning and I'm learning, I'm learning. And there's a story that they've told me that no one else has known as long as that RSS feed is up and as long as that audio is there, their story is not lost. And then the final thing, if we don't have time for the back half or sneaking in a couple more, it'll be one big question.

And there's a question that is meant to make somebody think somebody give an answer is not something that you could get off the top of your head. If you have to pause for five or six or 10, 30 seconds to say, man, I don't know how to answer this. That right there shows vulnerability and it shows. It shows that we're all human. I don't have pat answers.

I kind of knew where we were going with, with, with this interview and with, you know, explaining my other podcast, but I didn't know what you were specifically going to ask. And that vulnerability is what makes us all good.

You had Robbie Tacak of the Goo Goo Dolls, Alex Winter, the actor you know, obviously most well known, I guess, for the Bill and Ted movies. And then recently, the most recent episode I listened to was with Gloria Gaynor, massive disco queen. So I'm curious with some of these guests that you have on, being more sort of celebrity or more well known, obviously. You've got very interesting and very well known guests in their niches.

But with these particular guests, what was your process for identifying which ones you wanted to bring on to the show and then actually getting them on?

I think that's what's different, you know, with Gloria Gaynor, that whole, you know, Gloria's episode was basically promoting, I will survive her, her, her documentary movie. You know, it's one of those things of one of the questions in the Rocking Eight was what was the hardest course you had for your bachelor's in behavioral science degree that she just got and she's like statistics. I hate statistics. And it opened her up in a way that by allowing that in, you found out more about her.

And I've got incredible people who say, Sean, I've got X. Can you fit him or her in? And that is the ultimate honor to me. I've had actors, authors, you know, and I've got things that were, where. You know, this stuff goes on the radio, and then it also goes on to my goes on to the podcast. The key to finding who you want and who you, who you want in is there are some people that have told me, Sean, you need to do just actors. You need to do just artists. You need to do just artists.

Authors, but I won't do it. I'm not going to conform to a specific niche. You know, I could do, I could, with every author out there, I could do an author a day. Every day and still not touch all the authors that are out there with actors and artists coming up, I'm going to have a conversation with Elizabeth Hurley. And the main focus is going to be on her son, Damien and the new movie he directed, which he got his mom to play in.

He's like, she's like, Hey, when, when you do your first movie, I'll be in it and he said, I'm, I'm, I'm going to call you in for that. When these opportunities are there, they're presented to me. I'll either say yes or no, and that's it. It's, it's a matter of one of the rules that I have and. I take it from my grandfather. My grandfather said, the following subjects should not be talked about at the dinner table. Religion, politics, sex.

And I try to, as the hardest, to I've had political figures on. You know, I had Newt Gingrich on. And Newt Gingrich, you know, it was, you know, talking about a political, you know, a political book. First question I asked him was about his thesis that he did to graduate college. Opened up him up to a different level. He sent me a personal thank you saying that this was the best interview he ever had. And three, the key, the key part of the whole thing is we never got into the politics.

I don't want to have where my guests feel like, you know, my listeners feel like Sean's going to have another liberal conservative independent. I want them to say, Sean's got someone who, who's And he's going to get them to tell us a story. That's what I want. I don't want to deal with stuff that makes one side or the other cringe. Everyone has a story. Everyone has that opportunity to tell a story. We may not be good at it, but that's the thing.

You know, I had, I had somebody who, who wanted to come on the show and no matter what I tried, they were not going, we're not going to do the Rocking Eight. I'm not going to do one big question. I'm just going to give you my talking points. And I said, have a nice day. I didn't do it. I Danny, I, I don't want to be like everything else. I had somebody who's a podcast. Expert something to come to me and said, well, you don't put a lot of you in there. Nobody knows who you are.

And I'm like, that's great. The only thing that's that's that needs to be there is Beyond the Mic with Sean Dillon, that's the only part where you're over. And I don't even say my name. I would say Beyond the Mic, you know, and Anna Wigg, great voiceover artist intros the show, and then we go right into it. I'm not going to bore you with fluff. I'm not going to make it where you have to listen to 10 minutes of me telling you about what happened in my week. I am a conduit to a story. That's it.

I will bring up my kids occasionally when it is relevant to a guest, but other than that, it's not about me. Never about me. It is always about the guest. I'm different. I don't, I don't know what else to, I don't know what else to say to any, because the thing is, is that I am here to tell a story and to share a story. Whether I am 5, 438th in the arts chart, or 500th in the arts chart, or number one in the arts chart, I'm still going to tell a story.

to the gate long way away. And so when VIPs would come, they're like, Sean, don't say anything. Don't ask for anything. Just get into the gate. And I'd go, okay, sir, I got you. And one day Oprah Winfrey comes in with a entourage of entourage filling up every seat. And I was going to talk to her, I couldn't get in that word in an edgewise, she wanted to know everything about me. And so I took it, took her to the gate. She signed it. She said, I want to give you an autograph. Found something.

And she signed, you know, to Sean, thanks for the ride, Oprah. I still have it to this day. And then I just created, I've got an autograph book and the autograph book was always on the front page of the, the front seat. So if anyone wanted to sign the book and I had sports stars and celebrities in. Burl Ives, at this time is right before he passed, came and was going on a plane ride, took him to the gate and he re he's like, I'm not going to write an autograph book.

I'm going to give you something special. And he found out about me because he wouldn't, again, another person that went, would, would, wanted to, wanted to talk and tell stories. And ask me about me and, you know, with a name like Sean, you're a good Irishman. And then when he found out I had brothers and sisters with Tara, Patrick, Kirsten, Kelly, Liam. You know, so I have a folder that's To Sean, you know, a good Irishman, I once lived near Limerick for a time, for our lives.

And so, for, for that, those rides helped me. Keep in my mind that sometimes it's not about the star, it's about the person that the Star is with.

And. They do just want to talk to someone and have a normal conversation and find out about the people that they experience for a moment of their day or a moment of their time. And I feel there's like a show in there as well, like maybe even a video show where you're, you're going about in your golf buggy, your golf cart, and you've got a celebrity.

It's almost like what's that carpool karaoke before carpool karaoke came along, but the spoken version, I think that'd be a cool concept, you know, where the, the, the celebrities are basically interviewing you as opposed to vice versa.

From being a, a Radio Shack store manager, you know, I like hearing people's stories. One of the things that caused me to do this is when you're the oldest of six kids and you go to a big, huge family reunion of 300 people and you know, There's, there's like nine, 10 kids you know, of our age of seven or seven to 10, you know, you have to, to learn to talk to older people real quick because, you know, that's, that's what it is. So having conversations was.

a better way of having a conversation and listening to what people are asking are sometimes better use of our time.

they thought they might have known, where can people connect with you? Listen to the podcasts, et cetera.

You'll get this little bonus But you've got this cool little almost like a little mini treasure hunt I think that you should do that mate and put them in some sketchy areas as well Though little dive bars and and stuff because ecology is gonna be dive bars in there

I could spend another half an hour, 40 minutes more chatting with you, but I really appreciate you coming on and no doubt, I know I'm going to continue listening to Beyond the Mic, and you know what, I'm going to start listening to more of the Rockin 25 and see if I can understand the college basketball and get a little bit more knowledge there for this Brit that's delving into, you know, American sports.

Take care and we'll see you next time. Thanks for listening. To make sure you don't miss an episode, you can follow the show for free on your favorite podcast app or online at myotherpodcast.com. Or if you're on the YouTubes, you can watch every episode at myotherpodcast.com slash YouTube and be sure to hit that like and subscribe button. Take care, and I'll see you next time on My Other Podcast Is.